It was a cold, evil night in the dead of winter in 1986 around 9:45 pm. I ventured from my parents home, staggered to my 1983 Plymouth Champ drunker than a monkey, and set out for the Network Video, the first and only rental joint in town at that time. I was looking for a copy of The Evil Dead on VHS, but unfortunately, although the empty box was always there on the shelf in the horror section, the actual tape was never in stock. I have a feeling that the goddamned thing had been checked out under a false name by some miscreant who had no intention of ever bringing it back. The beta version sat there taunting me, a filthy arm reaching out from the grave on the smaller of the two boxes dragging a lovely brunette under the ground by her throat with the immortal words of one Stephen King ("...The most ferociously original horror film of the year...") floating in the dark blue sky above her head. Then, I see it. Fangoria had just run an article complete with the gory photos accompanied by jokey captions that would make the Cryptkeeper wince. A basket on the cover opened just enough to see two eyes and part of a deformed hand reaching towards me. Basket Case. And it was on VHS. I scooped it up, shelled out the $1.50, then stopped at the corner store with my newly minted fake i.d. for a pack of Marlboros, a twelve pack of beer, and some Cool Ranch Doritos. I arrived home, hit my basement bedroom, popped the tape in, cracked a beer, and settled in. Nothing would ever seem the same.
Since then, I've tried desperately to pitch Henenlotter to whoever would listen. No one listens. But I'm gonna try again now that I've just checked out his first movie in 18 years, a foul little foray into sexual deviance, Bad Biology. First a lil' background...
Henenlotter directed 3 brilliant films prior to Bad Biology. Basket Case (1982), his first, is the story of Duane and Belial, Siamese twins who, after their dad decides to split them up, develop a telepathic bond. Duane is a comparitively normal guy, and Belial is what you might call slightly deformed. And homicidal. They decide to head to the big city, Belial in tow in the titular basket, to seek revenge on the surgical staff who cut them apart and tried to dispose of Belial. Gory murders, romantic entanglements and general mayhem ensues. If you have somehow let this film slip by you, stop reading this right now, and go out and find it. It remains Henenlotter's greatest work. The director lensed two sequels to Basket Case, both of which are definitely worth a look, but the original is king.
After a six year wait, Henenlotter dropped Brain Damage (1988) upon an unsuspecting public. This is the tale of a boy and his brain parasite which happens to be about the size of a possum. It features brilliant voice casting for the Aylmer (or "Elmer" as Brian calls him) in the form of late night creature feature host Zacherle, who absolutely tears it up in a role that seems to have been created for him. Elmer supplies a hallucinogenic, highly addictive drug to Brian in return for victims whose brains he greedily devours. The classic scenes are plentiful here, but I have two faves. The first is when the previous keeper of the Aylmer returns to reclaim him and gives Brian the history of the parasite. The second is a showdown in a seedy hotel room as the Aylmer and Brian compete to see if Brian can go without the drug for longer than the Aylmer can go without grey matter. Rick Hearst does a nice job here as Brian, but went on to waste his talent in soap operas, where he continues to wallow as of this day.
After Basket Case 2 (1990), the director filmed his third masterpiece, a horror-comedy (although more comedy than horror) called Frankenhooker (1990.) This is the story of a med school dropout who proves that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Young Jeffrey Franken invents a self-propelled lawnmower that mutilates his beloved girlfriend. He decides to reassemble her with parts from hookers he murders for that purpose. As you can imagine, things go awry. Jim Lorinz is perfectly cast as Franken and its hard to believe that his career did not take off with this performance. He's still working, but not getting the type of roles that I was sure he would be getting after this. Henenlotter followed this up with another sequel to his original opus in the form of Basket Case 3: The Progeny (1992.)
Mr. Henenlotter then spent his time doing heroic work saving older exploitation films for Something Weird Video including one of my favorite films, The Curious Dr. Humpp, an Argentinian sci-fi sex flick that defies all description. Just see it.
So, here we are, 18 years after Basket Case 3, and Henenlotter has decided to once again assault us with an original creation. And that monstrosity is Bad Biology.
Early in Bad Biology, we get a look at a man piercing his member with a hypodermic needle. Jennifer picks up a guy at a bar and kills him during rough sex by slamming his head repeatedly into the floor during an orgasm. She is a sexual mutant of a sort, and the fetus fully gestates within her in two hours. She delivers the baby in the bathtub and leaves it there. Through her narration, she tells us that because the baby has only gestated for a short time, it is not a "real" baby and can be ignored. And this is all in the first few minutes of the film.
Jennifer is a photographer and physically addicted to sex. And completely homocidal. She beats another lover to death with a lamp. And then tosses the resulting infant into the garbage as she leaves his pad.
Batz has a reattached member that he has repeatedly injected with animal steroids that has developed a conscious of its own. His genitalia finds a way to detach itself and wreak havoc throughout his apartment building upon a number of attractive residents.
These two sexual freaks find their way to each other. And until you witness it, you won't believe how this one works itself out.
Don't miss it. Outside of John Waters, no one has ever made films that register on such a visceral level as Frank Henenlotter. This is the way movies should be made. 5 out of 5 stars.
Batz has a reattached member that he has repeatedly injected with animal steroids that has developed a conscious of its own. His genitalia finds a way to detach itself and wreak havoc throughout his apartment building upon a number of attractive residents.
These two sexual freaks find their way to each other. And until you witness it, you won't believe how this one works itself out.
Don't miss it. Outside of John Waters, no one has ever made films that register on such a visceral level as Frank Henenlotter. This is the way movies should be made. 5 out of 5 stars.
